The Ministry of Education's tuition subsidy program is set to start this September, which will benefit around 330,000 students who will be attending private senior high schools or five-year junior colleges. Qualified applicants will receive 17,000 NT dollars every semester.

The fall semester will open in two weeks, and a new tuition subsidy measure will also go into effect.

Most schools have begun processing the applications of second- and third-year students, but paperwork for first-year students has not yet been received.

According to new regulations, families with annual household income of less than 900,000 NT, two or fewer properties with current value of less than 6.5 million NT, and annual interest income of less than 100,000 NT are eligible for per-semester subsidies of 17,000 NT.

Because the measure was passed only recently, many private schools haven't had time to process the applications of new students and will therefore be asking parents to pay the full tuition first and process refunds later.

Nevertheless, private school students say the subsidy will definitely lessen their families' financial burdens.

An estimated 330,000 students around Taiwan will benefit from the new measure.

Students that withdraw or are expelled from school or have an attendance rate of less than 33% will be asked to repay the full subsidy amount.